The Almanac

Today is Friday, Nov. 3, the 307th day of 2006 with 58 to follow.

The moon is waxing. The morning stars are Saturn and Mars. The evening stars are Jupiter, Mercury, Pluto, Venus, Uranus and Neptune.

Those born on this date are under the sign of Scorpio. They include early Texas leader Stephen Austin, for whom the state capital is named, in 1793; poet William Cullen Bryant in 1794; Chicago Bears legend Bronislaw "Bronko" Nagurski in 1908; film actor Charles Bronson in 1922; conductor/composer John Barry, entertainer Ken Berry and former Massachusetts governor and 1986 Democratic presidential nominee Michael Dukakis, all in 1933 (age 73); comedian Roseanne Barr in 1952 (age 54); comedian Dennis Miller and actress Kate Capshaw, both in 1953 (age 53); and actress Kathy Kinney ("The Drew Carey Show") in 1954 (age 52).

On this date in history:

In 1783, with American independence established, Congress ordered the Continental Army demobilized.

In 1803, with the support of the U.S. government, Panama issued a declaration of independence from Colombia.

In 1928, Mickey Mouse appeared for the first time, with Walt Disney doing the squeaky voice of his soon-to-be-famous creation, in "Steamboat Willie," first fully synchronized sound cartoon produced.

In 1948, the Chicago Daily Tribune printed the famously premature (and incorrect) headline, "Dewey defeats Truman."

In 1957, the Soviet Union launched the first animal into space -- a dog named Laika -- aboard the Sputnik 2 spacecraft.

In 1964, Lyndon Johnson was elected U.S. president with a margin larger than in any previous presidential election, defeating Republican Barry Goldwater.

In 1976, former Democratic Gov. Jimmy Carter of Georgia was elected the 39th U.S. president, defeating Republican incumbent Gerald Ford.

In 1979, five members of the Communist Workers Party, participating in a "Death to the Klan" rally in Greensboro, N.C., were shot to death by a group of Klansmen and neo-Nazis. Seven others were wounded.

In 1984, the cremation of assassinated Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi drew world leaders to New Delhi.

In 1992, Democrat Bill Clinton, the governor of Arkansas, defeated incumbent Republican President George Bush.

In 1995, Typhoon Angela killed more than 700 people in the northern Philippines.

In 2001, Osama bin Laden, in a taped message, called the U.S.-led attack on Afghanistan a war against Islam.

Also in 2001, anthrax spores were confirmed in India and Pakistan and on additional postal equipment in the United States.

In 2002, North Korea was reported ready to negotiate its newly disclosed nuclear weapons program with the United States, including the dismantling of its uranium-enrichment facilities.

In 2003, the U.S. Supreme Court rejected the case of Alabama's Chief Justice Roy Moore who wanted to keep a Ten Commandments monument in that state's judicial building.

In 2004, California voters approved the creation of a $3 billion embryonic stem cell research effort over the next decade.

Also in 2004, Hamid Karzai was officially declared the winner in Afghanistan's first presidential election.

In 2005, former U.S. vice presidential aide Lewis Libby pleaded innocent to obstruction of justice, perjury and lying in the investigation into who disclosed the name of a covert CIA agent.

A thought for the day: in his second inaugural address, U.S. President Bill Clinton said: "Government is not the problem and government is not the solution. We, the American people, we are the solution."